President Trump announced plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest to negotiate an end to the three-year Russia-Ukraine war, following a ‘very productive’ two-hour phone call between the two leaders.
In a significant diplomatic development, President Trump revealed his intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to explore a potential cease-fire in Ukraine. The planned summit comes after an extensive telephone conversation where both leaders agreed to have their senior advisers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meet in the coming week to lay groundwork for negotiations.
Trump characterized the ongoing conflict as ‘inglorious’ and expressed increasing frustration with Putin’s continued military actions in Ukraine. Despite having previously maintained a warm relationship with the Russian leader, Trump has recently become critical of the prolonged war.
The potential meeting follows Trump’s recent diplomatic success in brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He has also suggested the possibility of providing Ukraine with U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, which would significantly enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Prior to the call, Trump had hosted Putin in Alaska in August but failed to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict. This upcoming meeting in Budapest represents another diplomatic attempt to bring the three-year war to a conclusion.
Putin reportedly congratulated Trump on his Middle East diplomatic efforts and expressed appreciation for the work of First Lady Melania Trump in discussions about returning Ukrainian children separated from their families during the conflict.
The proposed summit is scheduled to occur after the preliminary meetings between senior advisers, with both sides expressing cautious optimism about potential progress towards peace.
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